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COURTESY HC&S
The West Maui ditch system collects water from the Iao, Waihee, Waiehu and Waikapu streams. HC&S is seeking 115 million gallons of water per day for future diversified agriculture on about 30,000 acres of old sugar fields.
WAILUKU >> Maui residents are calling on Hawaii landowner Alexander & Baldwin to disclose the impacts of the company’s proposed 30-year lease for water from island streams.
The company’s subsidiary, Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co., is seeking 115 million gallons of water per day for future diversified agriculture on about 30,000 acres of old sugar fields, according to a Feb. 8 environmental impact statement preparation notice. The sugar plantation ceased its operations in December.
More than 130 people attended a Wednesday meeting on the company’s application to the state Board of Land and Natural Resources, The Maui News reported.
Many people testified against the proposed lease, saying the company’s history of diverting water from East Maui streams has negatively affected stream life, taro farming and other Native Hawaiian practices.
“I depend on that water. So do my animals and so does my lifestyle,” said Brendan Balthazar, rancher and board member of the Maui County Farm Bureau and Cattlemen’s Association. He added that the former sugar plantation land should continue to be used for agricultural purposes.
Attendees of the meeting called for stream flow data to be published from each of the streams Alexander & Baldwin plans to divert as part of the lease for use of water on state land.
The company has historically diverted 37 of the 39 identified streams in Nahiku, Keanae and Huelo but is abandoning five streams and is no longer diverting another waterway.
“I need to know if A&B truly has Maui at heart, not taking all that you can,” said Nalani Kaminau, a Native Hawaiian. “I would love A&B to be transparent for whatever mass farming they are getting into.”
A consultant for the company gave a brief presentation on the lease proposal Wednesday, but no company officials were on hand during the meeting.
Alexander & Baldwin recently sold 300 acres of its former sugar fields to a California-based company for $10 million.
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